Push-button switch



April 28,1925. 1,535,559

H. G. BAXTER PUSH BUTTON SWITCH Filed Sept. 17, 1920 UME II iss PM 5 m 83 lll l l ib Harold G. Baxter Patented Apr. 28, 1925. i

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HAROLD G. BAX'I'ER, OF BALDWIN, NEW YORK,ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELEC- TRIO & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PUSH-BUTTON swrrorr.

Application filed September 17, 1920. Serial No. 410,830.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that l, HAROLD G. BAXTER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Baldwin, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Push-Button Switches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to push button electric switches, and it has for its object the provision of a simple and compact construction wherein a single push button serves to both open and to close the switch and to actuate an indicator which shows the position of the enclosed connecting members.

For the purpose of illustration, I have shown my invention as applied to a wall switch of the oscillating type. As shown in the drawing-- Fig. 1 is a view of the switch mounted in the wall.

r Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the indicator mechanism, taken on the line IIII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the switch in closed position.

Fig. 4: is a view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, and v Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, are views showing the positions occupied by the blade-actuating members at various stages of their move ment.

The deviceincludes the usual cover plate 9, supporting frame 10, and stationary contact members 11. The cover plate has a perforation to permit observation of an on and off indicator 12, and another perforation which serves as a passage and guideway for a push-button plunger 13.

A shaft 14, carrying a pair of switch blades 15 and a bracket 16 is pivoted in the frame 10. Oscillation of the bracket 16 causes rotative motion of .the shaft 14, to

16 and indicator 12, and oscillation of the bracket causes the indicator 12 to rock on its pivot 23 Fig. 2) to cause the On or Off designation to register with the perforation in the cover plate, as illustrated in F ig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 3, the plunger occupies its normal protruding position, and the strut 20 is in position to be engaged by the lug 18 when the plunger is depressed. Depression of the plunger 13 will, therefore, cause the strut 20, acting through the bracket 16, to move the switch blades out of en-v .either of the struts during its upward travel from being engaged by the plunger, until after the other strut has completed its downcarry the blades into and out of engagement air of stop members 17 against which the.

ower end of the bracket 16 abuts.

The'plunger 13 has two lugs 18 and 19 which, when the plunger is depressed, alterward travel, and the plunger has been returned to its retracted position.

When either of the struts, on its upward movement, passes its coacting guide 25, the

tension spring 27 brings it into position against the plunger 13 to be engaged by the plunger on the next depression of said plunger. The guides 25 are angularly disposed as shown in Fig. 4, and yield at their points of contact with the plunger, to per-' mit passage ,of the strut extensions 26 on their downward travel (Fig. 6).

A pin 29, which is mounted in the frame I 10, (Fig. 4), extends through a pair of slots 31 in the plunger 13 (Fig. 3), to guide and to limit the movement Of'tllB plunger.

It also serves as a support for a spring 28 and for a pivoted arm 30 which supports the spring 24.

The compression spring 28 returns the plunger 13 t retracted position after each actuation. he spring 28, at its inner end,

,seats on the pin-29 and is compressed by. an

nately engage pivoted struts 20 and 21 respectlvely, to cause oscillation of the bracket '16 and blades 15. A lever 22 has its respective ends pivotally connected to the bracket inward movement of the plunger. v spring 24: is compressed by the upward movement of its point of support on the bracket 16.

The. r

Starting with the switch parts in theposition shown in Fig. 3', the plunger 13 is depressed, bringing lug or lip 18 into engage-- ment with the strut 20 and forcing said strut downwardly, thus imparting rotative' movegether with the movement of the bracket,

compresses the springs 28 and 24. I The compression of the springs is greatest at the time the blades are leaving the contacts, and the change in the direction of the force exerted by the spring 24 against the bracket .16 then causes the blades to. snap to completely open position and the pressure of spring 28 causes the plunger to return to retracted position.

While the strut 20 is being forced downwardly in the .operation just described, the strut 21 is traveling upwardly past one of the guides 25 (Figs. 5, 6 and 7), until,'by reason of the tension exerted by the spring 27, it is brought to rest against the plunger 13 (Fig. 8), in position for a closing movement of the switch.

At each actuation of the push-button plunger, the curved face of the indicator 12 is caused to move across the opening in the cover plate, and the words On and Off alternately appear to indicate the position of the switch connecting members.

Various changes may be made in the construction without avoiding the essential features of the invention. For instance, the bracket 16 may be dispensed with and the struts 20, 21 and lever 22 mounted directly on the blade, in the construction of a single blade switch. Or, the indicator,instead of being connected to the switch blade or its bracket, may be connected to the plunger.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination in an electric switch, of a perforated plate, a frame, a pair of stationary contact members, a movable contact member pivoted in the frame and adapted to engage the stationary contact members, a bracket connected to the movable contact member, stop members limit-v ing the movement of the bracket, a pair of struts pivoted on the bracket, a spring connecting said struts intermediate their ends, an indlcator movably mounted on the cover plate adjacent to one of the perforations, a link connection between the said bracket and the indicator, a plunger extending through another of the perforations in the cover plate, lugs on the plunger for engaging said struts alternately during successive depressions of said plunger, guides in the frame for guiding each strut out of engagement with the lugs on the plunger during the period the other strut is engaged, a compression spring in the-plunger normally exerting outward pressure thereon, and a compression. spring carried by the bracket and normally exerting pressure to maintain such bracket in one of its extreme positions.

2. In combination, in a push button switch, a plunger, a movable contact member, a pair of stationary contact members coacting with the movable contact. member, a pair of preventing one of the struts from being engaged by the plunger while said plunger is actuating'the other strut.

3. In combination, in a push button switch, a plunger, a movable contact member, a pair ofstationary contact members, a pair of struts mounted on the movable contact memher, a lug on the plunger for engaging with one of said struts to move the movable contact member out of engagement with the stationary contact members, a second lug on the plunger for engaging the other of sa d struts to move the movable. contact member into engagement with the stationary contact members, means for preventing one of the struts from being engaged by the plunger while said plunger is actuating the other strut, and an indicator actuated at each movement of the movable contact member.

.4.-. In combination, in a switch, a push button, a'movable contact member, a pair of stationary contact members, springmeans carried between the push button and the movable contact member for normally maintaining the push button in retracted position and the movable contact member in one of e. 1

able contact member in one of its extreme positions, means whereby thepush button during successive depressions thereof alternately moves the movable contact member in opposite directions, an indicator mechanism,and means whereby the indicator mechanism is automatically actuated by the move, ment of the movable contact member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this third day of September, 1920.

HAROLD e. BAXTER. 

